Aren't these all distinct crimes already. It sounds like they are just charging someone with "Um, real bad mafia type stuff and being a naughty, naughty person."

My question is why is racketeering a formal charge rather than a general description of behavior and why don't they just charge someone with the actual illegal activities engaged in rather than this vague description.

MC Master of Ceremonies

06-19-2003, 03:38 PM

Racteering is basically organised crime.

Bricker

06-19-2003, 03:42 PM

Extortion is a crime. Bribery is a crime. Loansharking is a crime.

But it's a separate and distinct crime to participate in an enterprise that organizes these crimes. In other words, when you take part in a group that manages and perpetrates these types of crimes, you are commiting the separate crime of racketeering.

A single instance of extortion is not a federal crime. A single instance of bribery, assuming it's not of a federal offical or something along those lines, is not a federal crime. But the enterprise that manages and controls a pattern of such crimes IS a federal crime.